Free Republic

Moscow and Tehran will strengthen their security partnership and team up to counter sanctions imposed by the West, a key architect of Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has said. Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Russia's Security Council, announced closer cooperation between the allies after a meeting with the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Akbar Ahmadian. Ties between Tehran and Moscow have deepened since the start of the war in Ukraine, with Iran supplying Russian forces with Shahed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) which have wreaked havoc on Ukrainian infrastructure.

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said on Monday that another 3,000 of his fighters were ready to go to fight in Ukraine as part of new units of the Russian defence ministry and the Russian National Guard forces. -snip- "They (the fighters) have the best equipment and modern weapons," Kadyrov said on the Telegram messaging app. "In addition, the guys are highly combative and very motivated to achieve results." In May, Kadyrov said that Chechnya, which is a federal republic of Russia, had sent more than 26,000 fighters to Ukraine from the start of the war, including 12,000 volunteers and that...

Russia and Iran on Monday denounced recent Israeli airstrikes on Syria’s Damascus International Airport, warning that such actions could further aggravate tensions in the Middle East. “We regard the ongoing attacks on the territory of the Syrian Republic as a gross violation of the sovereignty of this state and the basic norms of international law. We strongly condemn Israel’s latest provocative attack on an important Syrian civilian infrastructure facility,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a statement. -snip- Separately, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani accused Israel of deliberately escalating tensions in the West Asia region through attacks...

Hamas thanked Vladimir Putin for his support for the “Palestinian cause” as the terror group released a Russian hostage from the Gaza Strip on Sunday afternoon. It said its release of a Russian citizen from the war-ravaged territory was made in appreciation of the position taken by Moscow’s position on the conflict with Israel. “In response to the efforts of Russian president Putin and in appreciation of the Russian position in support of the Palestinian cause, we released a detainee who holds Russian citizenship,” Hamas said.

Vladimir Putin has accused the West of "outright satanism" during a 37-minute tirade at a ceremony announcing the annexation of four Ukrainian territories. The Russian President and leaders of the four regions signed treaties to annex Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia - a move that has been dismissed as a "sham" by Ukraine and Western nations.During the 37-minute speech Putin said the West had no right to speak of democracy and that Western nations were acting like the imperialist states they had "always been"."The dictatorship of the Western elites is directed against all societies, including the peoples of the Western...

A nephew of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has been appointed the new head of Russia's Danone subsidiary (DANO.PA) after the Kremlin ordered the state to take temporary control of the French yoghurt maker's business in Russia. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, many Western companies have fled Russia and some assets have been put under state management, with close allies of President Vladimir Putin gaining day-to-day control. Many investors say a new generation of tycoons is being created in Russia. Loyalty to the Kremlin is rewarded with effective control over assets that garner significant cash-flow and have major growth potential.